“I have been accustomed to entertain that same
idea myself,” he said, “but, after all,
what is it to be a gentleman? All men can be gentle
when they get what they want. That’s no
test of gentility. It takes circumstances outside
the normal to prove man’s civilization.
When his desires meet with opposition the brute comes
to the surface—­that’s all.”

Another rush of passion lighted his eyes and sought
its reflection in hers. Opal turned and fled.

* * * *
*

In the seclusion of her stateroom Opal faced herself
resolutely. A sensation of outrage mingled with
a strange sense of guilt. Her resentment seemed
to blend with something resembling a strange, fierce
joy. She tried to fight it down, but it would
not be conquered.

Why was he so handsome, so brilliant, this strange
foreign fellow whom she felt intuitively to be more
than he claimed to be? What was the secret of
his power that even in the face of this open insult
she could not be as angry as she knew she should have
been?

She looked in the mirror apprehensively. No,
there was no sign of that terrible kiss. And
yet she felt as though all the world must have seen
had they looked at her—­felt that she was
branded forever by the burning touch of his lips!

CHAPTER VIII

It was not until the dinner hour on the following
day that Paul and Opal met again. One does not
require an excuse for keeping to one’s stateroom
during an ocean voyage—­especially during
the first few days—­and the girl, though
in excellent health and a capital sailor, kept herself
secluded.

She wanted to understand herself and to understand
this stranger who was yet no stranger. For a
girl who had looked upon life as she had she felt
woefully unsophisticated. But the Boy? He
was certainly not a man of the world, who through
years of lurid experience had learned to look upon
all women as his legitimate quarry. If he had
been that sort, she told herself, she would have been
on her guard instinctively from the very first.
But she knew he was too young for that—­far
too young—–­ and his eyes were frank
and clear and open, with no dark secrets behind their
curtained lids. But what was he—­and
who?

When the day was far spent, she knew that she was
no nearer a solution than she had been at dawn, so
she resolved to join the group at table and put behind
her the futile labor of self-examination. She
would not, of course, deign to show any leniency toward
the offender—­indeed not! She would
not vouchsafe one unnecessary word for his edification.

But she took elaborate care with her toilet, selected
her most becoming gown and drove her maid into a frenzy
by her variations of taste and temper.